A defensive Congress went on the back foot on Friday as name of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was dragged into the controversy over the escape of Warren Anderson, the then chairman of Union Carbide Corporation, from India in December 1984.

The party made a desperate attempt to fight back after P.C. Alexander, the principal secretary to Rajiv, hinted that the latter might have had a role in the entire episode.

Giving clarification, party spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan said that there was nothing unusual about a prime minister and a chief minister being in touch.

The party virtually exonerated Rajiv's role in the entire episode and hinted that only the state government was responsible for what happened after Anderson was arrested in Bhopal.

Natrajan added that Alexander was not insinuating anything about Rajiv's role. The party squarely put the onus on the Group of Ministers to shed light on the Bhopal bungling.

The party line was echoed by Balram Jakhar, who was the Lok Sabha speaker during Rajiv Gandhi's regime. Jakhar said that Rajiv never feared anyone and he never saw him coming under pressure. He however preferred silence on then Madhya Pradesh chief minister Arjun Singh's role.

Earlier, shifting blame on Arjun Singh, senior Congress leader R.K. Dhawan-considered close to the Gandhi family-had rubbished Alexander's claim that Rajiv could have taken such a decision.

Accusing Alexander of nurturing a personal grudge, Dhawan had said, "How Anderson travelled in a state plane only Arjun Singh can answer. But that is not possible without the approval of state government. I knew the nature of Mr Rajiv Gandhi. There would not have been any pressure on the chief minister. But I'm not aware of the facts."

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